In a game that Valencia needed to win to help stay in the race for next year's Europa League, Valencia just scraped by.
The first half started out very evenly between the two sides with Valencia getting the greatest chance after a superb through ball from Parejo split the Villareal defense and found Barragan, the right winger for the night, who couldn't finish. Valencia started to dominate possession and chances helped by the poor passing from Villareal. The two goals from Valencia came from an unlikely source as CDM Javi Fuego scored a brace with a well placed long range effort and an open net rebound from Mathieu's shot.
The second half, Villareal stepped up but was let down again by their poor passing. They could've cause some real problems had they played at the same level they usually do. Their goal came from Giovanni dos Santos after a failed clearance from Joao Pereira left him in space in the box. A mistake that should not be happening at this level especially if Valencia wants to compete at the highest level in any sort of competition.
Overall, it's a victory that Valencia will claim against a rival. This win will keep Valencia at 8th place, 6 points behind Villareal at 7th and 16 points from Atletico Bilbao and a Champions League spot. It's been known for a while that Valencia will not be in the Champions League and thus are fighting for the Europa League spots. We also lost Diego Alves and Victor Ruiz through injury because of this game. While Victor Ruiz has many available to replace him, Diego Alves is quite a hefty loss and I don't know how Guaita will fill such big shoes. I hope he steps up and proves himself during this period. This win is good though in that Valencia are back to winning ways after losing out to Real Sociedad last week.
Goals:
1-0 Javi Fuego, 35'
2-0 Javi Fuego, 44'
2-1 Giovanni dos Santos, 83'
Squad:
Valencia CF (2): Diego Alves (Guaita, 21'), Pereira, Barragan, Victor Ruiz (Vezo, 45'), Mathieu, Bernat, Parejo, Fuego, Keita, Fede (Vargas, 83'), Alcacer
Villareal CF (1): Asenjo, Costa, Musacchio, Dorado, Jokic, Oliver Torres (Aquino, 62'), Pina, Bruno, Cani (Gomez, 79'), Uche (Perbet, 69'), Giovanni dos Santos
Ratings:
Diego Alves 6.5 - In the short amount of time he was on made a couple of good saves.
Pereira 5.0 - Decent runs forwards, but serious attitude problem that gets him booked every game. Terrible mistake which prevented a clean sheet.
Ruiz 5.0 - Haven't seen him do much around the field
Bernat 7.0 - As usual good runs and crosses, tracked back well
Barragan 6.5 - Got himself in good positions and made some decent crosses
Keita 5.5 - Had a clear chance at goal that he missed, still wastes possession but slowly getting back to the level required
Parejo 7.5 - Great all round performance, good interceptions, superb passes, and controlled the pace of the game well.
Fuego 7.0 - Was opportunist this game taking any chance that came to him and it paid off twice, once from long range and once for being in position of the rebound. Great cover for the defense as well
Fede 7.0 - Explosive down the left hand side and linked up almost perfectly with Bernat. Cause lots of trouble at the beginning of the game, slowly dwindled near the end possible due to ankle uncomfort.
Alcacer 5.5 - Didn't get much time on the ball or any chances to be of significant impact. Dropped back a couple of times to link with the midfield and had exactly one shot in the game which was on target but straight to the keeper.
Subs:
Guaita 6.0 - Wasn't required to do much saved what he could, couldn't do anything about the goal since it came by surprise after Pereira's error
Vezo 5.5 - did his job decently, like Ruiz didn't have much presence
Vargas N/A - not enough time
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Monday, March 24, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Footballing Giants keep an eye on Bernat
Real Sociedad 1-0 Valencia CF Match Report
This match marks Pizzi's second loss as a coach only, the other being a few weeks ago to Rayo Vallecano. What does this loss mean? It means Valencia sit now in eight position in the league with 36 points, a whole eight point behind seven place Sevilla who are at 44 points. Valencia can still qualify to Europa League though. Since the winner of the Copa del Rey is granted a free pass to the Europa League and both finalists (Barca and Real Madrid) are all but guaranteed Champions League spots like they are every year, an additional slot opens up. It would be better however, if Valencia secure a higher position since 8th is really unfitting of this club.
Pizzi fielded an eleven in this game with a few changes from the mid week game in the Europa League where Valencia won 3-0 away from home. However, the fatigue was obvious. Fortunately, Sociedad were playing cautiously at the first half or they could've dealt some serious damage. With this cautious play, Valencia had the upper hand but simply could not capitalized on any chances. The team then fell into disorder with the players starting to look silly and playing with no coordination. They were literally running into each other and falling on the field.
In the second half Sociedad took advantage of the fatigue and attacked relentlessly but again wasted their chances. Valencia's best chance was a Parejo free kick which was spot on for Jonas but it didn't go in. The four Valencia players who attacked the rebounded ball made a mess of it, couldn't get it in and resulted in a comical scene where the ball bounced like a pin ball between them. The counter-attack from that play, lead to the goal for Sociedad. The strikers weren't getting the ball enough in the game, first Vargas then newly signed Araujo; both invisible most of the game due to lack of possession which Valencia gave up a lot.
While this could all be due to fatigue from the Europa League game, I don't think that's a very good excuse. I've observed a few serious problems with the team these past few games. First, I don't see Seydou Keita as beneficial to the squad. Every game he's been on, he gets booked, he already got red carded once last week (Europa League) and almost got red carded the week before. In addition, his passes often give the ball away. I think Pizzi should consider putting Victor Ruiz back as a CDM (he was used there a few times before by previous coaches) instead of Keita. At least, until Romeu recovers from injury. Second problem is the lack of impact substitutes and bench in general. Valencia can't keep losing games because of fatigue. Also, in recent games, the only substitutions that had an impact on the game was bringing Fede on. It was clear in the game against Sociedad also. Nothing was being done, Fede comes on and suddenly chances are created. Impact subs of this kind are needed. When Michel came on, however, all he did was get booked almost instantly and was almost invisible for the rest of the game. Finally, lots of bookings are being picked up recently and quite unnecessarily. While part of this is dependent on the referring, the players should avoid unnecessary challenges. There was a lot of them in this game. The players can't get into this habit of picking up cards. I mean the past five league games alone we have seen 21 yellow cards and two red cards. That's an awful statistic.
Goals:
1-0 Agirretxe (61')
Squad:
Real Sociedad (1) - Bravo, Zaldua, Martinez, Jose Angel, Bergara, Zurutuza, Carlos Vela, Sergio Canales (Ruben Pardo, 76'), Griezmann, Agirretxe
Valencia CF (0) - Diego Alves, Barragan, Senderos, Ruiz, Bernat (Michel, 83'), Feghouli, Piatti (Fede, 55'), Parejo, Keita, Jonas, Vargas (Araujo, 69')
Ratings:
Diego Alves 6.5 - Did what he could. The goal he could do nothing about but it was a brilliant header. Had some really good saves though that kept the team with a fighting chance.
Barragan 5.5 - Made some good runs forward but produced nothing out of it
Senderos 5.5 - Had some good tackles but a lot of unnecessary ones, the goal happened on his watch.
Ruiz 5.0 - Lacked motivation on the field, he should have used this time to try to earn his spot back
Bernat 6.5 - Good fighting spirit. Linked up well with Fede later in the game when he came on. Had one or two crucial tackles that he made along with some good crosses.
Parejo 6.0- Despite being tired, had spot on passes and some creativity. Almost created a goal but wasted most of the corners Valencia had due to abysmal crossing.
Keita 4.0 - Gets into many unnecessary challenges, loses the ball frequently, rash decision making, really failed to settle in to the club
Jonas 5.5 - Sometimes got in good positions but could not capitalize on his chances.
Feghouli 5.0 - The fatigue was perhaps the clearest on him since he runs a lot. Put in some good effort but was ineffective.
Piatti 5.0 - Perhaps to start the game having just returned from injury wasn't the smartest idea. Very dull and never got into the rhythm of the game. This could be more a tactical mistake than the player himself.
Vargas 5.5 - Follows the theme of the day, ineffective. Largely due to the fact that he barely got the ball cause the team kept wasting it.
Next game is Europa League fixture at home against Ludogorets of Bulgaria. Tie pretty much settled with Valencia up 3-0 on aggregate and all away goals. Should be even better at home.
P.S. Sorry for not posting regularly/on time. I try my best between my university work. I promise more to come.
Pizzi fielded an eleven in this game with a few changes from the mid week game in the Europa League where Valencia won 3-0 away from home. However, the fatigue was obvious. Fortunately, Sociedad were playing cautiously at the first half or they could've dealt some serious damage. With this cautious play, Valencia had the upper hand but simply could not capitalized on any chances. The team then fell into disorder with the players starting to look silly and playing with no coordination. They were literally running into each other and falling on the field.
In the second half Sociedad took advantage of the fatigue and attacked relentlessly but again wasted their chances. Valencia's best chance was a Parejo free kick which was spot on for Jonas but it didn't go in. The four Valencia players who attacked the rebounded ball made a mess of it, couldn't get it in and resulted in a comical scene where the ball bounced like a pin ball between them. The counter-attack from that play, lead to the goal for Sociedad. The strikers weren't getting the ball enough in the game, first Vargas then newly signed Araujo; both invisible most of the game due to lack of possession which Valencia gave up a lot.
While this could all be due to fatigue from the Europa League game, I don't think that's a very good excuse. I've observed a few serious problems with the team these past few games. First, I don't see Seydou Keita as beneficial to the squad. Every game he's been on, he gets booked, he already got red carded once last week (Europa League) and almost got red carded the week before. In addition, his passes often give the ball away. I think Pizzi should consider putting Victor Ruiz back as a CDM (he was used there a few times before by previous coaches) instead of Keita. At least, until Romeu recovers from injury. Second problem is the lack of impact substitutes and bench in general. Valencia can't keep losing games because of fatigue. Also, in recent games, the only substitutions that had an impact on the game was bringing Fede on. It was clear in the game against Sociedad also. Nothing was being done, Fede comes on and suddenly chances are created. Impact subs of this kind are needed. When Michel came on, however, all he did was get booked almost instantly and was almost invisible for the rest of the game. Finally, lots of bookings are being picked up recently and quite unnecessarily. While part of this is dependent on the referring, the players should avoid unnecessary challenges. There was a lot of them in this game. The players can't get into this habit of picking up cards. I mean the past five league games alone we have seen 21 yellow cards and two red cards. That's an awful statistic.
Goals:
1-0 Agirretxe (61')
Squad:
Real Sociedad (1) - Bravo, Zaldua, Martinez, Jose Angel, Bergara, Zurutuza, Carlos Vela, Sergio Canales (Ruben Pardo, 76'), Griezmann, Agirretxe
Valencia CF (0) - Diego Alves, Barragan, Senderos, Ruiz, Bernat (Michel, 83'), Feghouli, Piatti (Fede, 55'), Parejo, Keita, Jonas, Vargas (Araujo, 69')
Ratings:
Diego Alves 6.5 - Did what he could. The goal he could do nothing about but it was a brilliant header. Had some really good saves though that kept the team with a fighting chance.
Barragan 5.5 - Made some good runs forward but produced nothing out of it
Senderos 5.5 - Had some good tackles but a lot of unnecessary ones, the goal happened on his watch.
Ruiz 5.0 - Lacked motivation on the field, he should have used this time to try to earn his spot back
Bernat 6.5 - Good fighting spirit. Linked up well with Fede later in the game when he came on. Had one or two crucial tackles that he made along with some good crosses.
Parejo 6.0- Despite being tired, had spot on passes and some creativity. Almost created a goal but wasted most of the corners Valencia had due to abysmal crossing.
Keita 4.0 - Gets into many unnecessary challenges, loses the ball frequently, rash decision making, really failed to settle in to the club
Jonas 5.5 - Sometimes got in good positions but could not capitalize on his chances.
Feghouli 5.0 - The fatigue was perhaps the clearest on him since he runs a lot. Put in some good effort but was ineffective.
Piatti 5.0 - Perhaps to start the game having just returned from injury wasn't the smartest idea. Very dull and never got into the rhythm of the game. This could be more a tactical mistake than the player himself.
Vargas 5.5 - Follows the theme of the day, ineffective. Largely due to the fact that he barely got the ball cause the team kept wasting it.
Next game is Europa League fixture at home against Ludogorets of Bulgaria. Tie pretty much settled with Valencia up 3-0 on aggregate and all away goals. Should be even better at home.
P.S. Sorry for not posting regularly/on time. I try my best between my university work. I promise more to come.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Valencia CF 2 - 1 Granada CF Match Report
Valencia survive a scare at home, only to clinch the victory in the last minutes of the game. After the late win in Cyprus against Dynamo Kiev on Thursday's Europa League match, the team leaves it late again after struggling through most of the match. This match was also a debut start for both Ruben Vezo and Seydou Keita.
The first half was quite poor. Possession was not made the most of and the majority of the play was impatient. The only shots on goal were long range efforts from Valencia youngster Fede, which were dealt with by the goal keeper. There wasn't many other chances since Granada were really tight at the back and trying to hit Valencia on the counter, which they did several times. One of the times, saw a Granada player go through both holding midfielders, Keita and Fuego, and into the left side of defense, were he was stopped by Barragan, the right back for the evening. Thankfully, none of the Granada efforts went in.
The second half started with the same clumsiness as the first half with Granada immediately punishing Valencia. Fuego failed to clear a ball from defense and basically gave the ball away to Granada's forward Piti, who had no trouble slotting it Alves from that range. After periods of struggling to break down the defense, Pizzi introduces Alcacer to the game for Keita and Jonas for Vargas. Only 10 minutes after coming on Alcacer made a really well timed run onto the end of Feghouli's cross and leveled the scoreline. Recently, Alcacer's runs have been spot on and so well timed which I think gives him an edge over his fellow strikers. A short while after, Pizzi brings in Michel for Fede. This was a mistake in my opinion. Michel has played so badly in recent games and lost possession so many times this game. Every time he gets the ball possession goes to the other team. He did however get some shots on target. I hope the clumsiness today was just the player's fatigue from the Europa League and not something we see next week. Not every time we're gonna get saved by a late strike in the 91 minute. It was Ruben Vezo, on his first start to rescue the team. It was however, a good confidence booster for him.
Overall it was a scare tonight with joy at the end. Squad rotation and organization need to be addressed since a lot of the players on the bench (Michel, Jonas, Guaita) have not performed as decent replacements in recent games at least. In addition if someone like Parejo gets injured or suspended no one can fill the same role adequately. There is a clear lack of alternatives in some positions while overloads in others which should be and reportedly will be addressed this summer transfer window.
Goals:
0-1 (Piti, 47')
1-1 (Alcacer, 64')
2-1 (Ruben Vezo, 91')
Squads:
Valencia CF (2) : Diego Alves, Barragan, Mathieu, Ruben Vezo, Bernat, Parejo, Keita (Paco Alcacer, 53'), Fuego, Feghouli, Fede (Michel, 73'), Vargas (Jonas, 59')
Granada CF (1) : Roberto, Nyom, Coeff, Murillo, Angulo, Rico (Fatau, 21'), Iturra, Reico, Piti (Foulquier, 85'), El-Arabi, Brahimi
Ratings:
Diego Alves, 6.0 - Wasn't troubled too much throughout the game. Saved every shot that came his way and could no absolutely nothing about the goal since Fuego gave it away so close to the net.
Bernat, 6.5 - Great energy all around. Got forward often, delivered crosses and won corners. Tracked back quickly despite coming forward
Ruben Vezo, 6.5 - Great debut, solid at the back. More viable than Costa as a defender and scored the winning goal late in the game.
Mathieu, 5.5 - Tracked back decently and covered his ground most of the time.
Barragan, 6.5 - Great work ethic. Helped out in defense everywhere and came forward often but wasn't picked out often.
Fuego, 4.5 - Wasn't his usual self in front of defense. Very weak presence, gave ball away while covering in defense which resulted in Granada taking the lead.
Keita, 5.0 - Well away from his form at Barca, wasn't his usual self either. Slow and gave away posession.
Parejo, 6.0 - Provided the assist for Ruben Vezo's late goal from a free kick. Some misplaced passes but overall provided some useful passes to spread play and penetrate the heavy defense.
Feghouli, 6.5 - Great effort as in recent games. Provided a great assist for Alcacer's goal and almost assisted a second goal. He was a trouble for defense with his dribbling and many crosses.
Fede, 6.0 - Great energy from the youngster. Provided constant pressure on the keeper with long range efforts in the first half. His presence slowly dwindled in the second half.
Vargas, 5.5 - Invisible for most of the game. Looked really fatigued and slow out there.
Subs:
Alcacer, 6.0 - Instant impact substitution. Made a great time run and was rewarded with a goal. His presence was not felt afterwards.
Jonas, 5.5 - Came on and tried to do something. Provided some composure to a team that was lacking it. Had some good shots but didn't trouble Granada too much.
Michel, 4.5 - Gave away possession time and time again, with bad passes/long range efforts when the team really needed to be patient to find the winning goal.
The first half was quite poor. Possession was not made the most of and the majority of the play was impatient. The only shots on goal were long range efforts from Valencia youngster Fede, which were dealt with by the goal keeper. There wasn't many other chances since Granada were really tight at the back and trying to hit Valencia on the counter, which they did several times. One of the times, saw a Granada player go through both holding midfielders, Keita and Fuego, and into the left side of defense, were he was stopped by Barragan, the right back for the evening. Thankfully, none of the Granada efforts went in.
The second half started with the same clumsiness as the first half with Granada immediately punishing Valencia. Fuego failed to clear a ball from defense and basically gave the ball away to Granada's forward Piti, who had no trouble slotting it Alves from that range. After periods of struggling to break down the defense, Pizzi introduces Alcacer to the game for Keita and Jonas for Vargas. Only 10 minutes after coming on Alcacer made a really well timed run onto the end of Feghouli's cross and leveled the scoreline. Recently, Alcacer's runs have been spot on and so well timed which I think gives him an edge over his fellow strikers. A short while after, Pizzi brings in Michel for Fede. This was a mistake in my opinion. Michel has played so badly in recent games and lost possession so many times this game. Every time he gets the ball possession goes to the other team. He did however get some shots on target. I hope the clumsiness today was just the player's fatigue from the Europa League and not something we see next week. Not every time we're gonna get saved by a late strike in the 91 minute. It was Ruben Vezo, on his first start to rescue the team. It was however, a good confidence booster for him.
Overall it was a scare tonight with joy at the end. Squad rotation and organization need to be addressed since a lot of the players on the bench (Michel, Jonas, Guaita) have not performed as decent replacements in recent games at least. In addition if someone like Parejo gets injured or suspended no one can fill the same role adequately. There is a clear lack of alternatives in some positions while overloads in others which should be and reportedly will be addressed this summer transfer window.
Goals:
0-1 (Piti, 47')
1-1 (Alcacer, 64')
2-1 (Ruben Vezo, 91')
Squads:
Valencia CF (2) : Diego Alves, Barragan, Mathieu, Ruben Vezo, Bernat, Parejo, Keita (Paco Alcacer, 53'), Fuego, Feghouli, Fede (Michel, 73'), Vargas (Jonas, 59')
Granada CF (1) : Roberto, Nyom, Coeff, Murillo, Angulo, Rico (Fatau, 21'), Iturra, Reico, Piti (Foulquier, 85'), El-Arabi, Brahimi
Ratings:
Diego Alves, 6.0 - Wasn't troubled too much throughout the game. Saved every shot that came his way and could no absolutely nothing about the goal since Fuego gave it away so close to the net.
Bernat, 6.5 - Great energy all around. Got forward often, delivered crosses and won corners. Tracked back quickly despite coming forward
Ruben Vezo, 6.5 - Great debut, solid at the back. More viable than Costa as a defender and scored the winning goal late in the game.
Mathieu, 5.5 - Tracked back decently and covered his ground most of the time.
Barragan, 6.5 - Great work ethic. Helped out in defense everywhere and came forward often but wasn't picked out often.
Fuego, 4.5 - Wasn't his usual self in front of defense. Very weak presence, gave ball away while covering in defense which resulted in Granada taking the lead.
Keita, 5.0 - Well away from his form at Barca, wasn't his usual self either. Slow and gave away posession.
Parejo, 6.0 - Provided the assist for Ruben Vezo's late goal from a free kick. Some misplaced passes but overall provided some useful passes to spread play and penetrate the heavy defense.
Feghouli, 6.5 - Great effort as in recent games. Provided a great assist for Alcacer's goal and almost assisted a second goal. He was a trouble for defense with his dribbling and many crosses.
Fede, 6.0 - Great energy from the youngster. Provided constant pressure on the keeper with long range efforts in the first half. His presence slowly dwindled in the second half.
Vargas, 5.5 - Invisible for most of the game. Looked really fatigued and slow out there.
Subs:
Alcacer, 6.0 - Instant impact substitution. Made a great time run and was rewarded with a goal. His presence was not felt afterwards.
Jonas, 5.5 - Came on and tried to do something. Provided some composure to a team that was lacking it. Had some good shots but didn't trouble Granada too much.
Michel, 4.5 - Gave away possession time and time again, with bad passes/long range efforts when the team really needed to be patient to find the winning goal.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Dynamo Kyiv 0 - 2 Valencia CF Match Report
Valencia start off the Round of 32 of the Europa League with an important "away" win. The match was "away" at Cyprus instead of Kyiv in Ukraine due to the tense political situation in the country. As such, despite playing in Cyprus both goals count as away goal for Valencia.
The game was pretty dull and uneventful for the first 45 minutes, with both sides struggling to find even a single chance. The atmosphere was just as dull with the stadium for the most part empty due to the last minute change in location from Kyiv to Cyprus. The attempts from Valencia had that half were pretty much two shots that were way high and way wide from Michel. There was no chance for the flow of the game to develop due to impatient play (taking a shot miles away from goal) and fouls. Possession was frequently lost from both sides and overall it was a pain to watch.
The beginning of the second half was a lot more eventful despite no substitutions being made by either side. Dynamo Kyiv started with a good chance that they blasted high and wide and Valencia were beginning to penetrate the opposing defense. A few minutes into the half and Dynamo Kyiv's goalkeeper leaves the field with an injury and gives way to a younger keeper. This keeper would go on to make excellent saves from Vargas header and a Keita header and keep his side in the game. However, a good corner from Parejo found Vargas for the first goal. And about 10 minutes later Feghouli was found by a Pereira through ball and his shot was deflected away from the keeper into the net.
The introduction of Vargas and Feghouli added a lot of energy into the side that looked pretty weary from either last minute travel or the intense match against Sevilla where they were outnumbered for about 45 minutes. However, we now have a 2 goal away cushion to carry to the Mestalla for the home leg next week. First up though we have a home game at the Mestalla against Granada to get through.
Goals:
0-1 Eduardo Vargas (79')
0-2 Feghouli (90')
Squad:
Dynamo Kyiv (0) - Shovkovskiy (Rybka, 54'), Danilo Silva, Vida, Dragovic, Makarenko, Vukojevic, Veloso, Gusev, Belhanda (Garmash, 73'), Lens (Kravets, 83'), Brown
Valencia (2) -Diego Alves, Joao Pereira, Costa, Mathieu, Bernat, Javi Fuego, Keita, Michel (Feghouli, 67'), Jonas (Barragan, 88'), Parejo, Alcacer (Eduardo Vargas, 60')
The game was pretty dull and uneventful for the first 45 minutes, with both sides struggling to find even a single chance. The atmosphere was just as dull with the stadium for the most part empty due to the last minute change in location from Kyiv to Cyprus. The attempts from Valencia had that half were pretty much two shots that were way high and way wide from Michel. There was no chance for the flow of the game to develop due to impatient play (taking a shot miles away from goal) and fouls. Possession was frequently lost from both sides and overall it was a pain to watch.
The beginning of the second half was a lot more eventful despite no substitutions being made by either side. Dynamo Kyiv started with a good chance that they blasted high and wide and Valencia were beginning to penetrate the opposing defense. A few minutes into the half and Dynamo Kyiv's goalkeeper leaves the field with an injury and gives way to a younger keeper. This keeper would go on to make excellent saves from Vargas header and a Keita header and keep his side in the game. However, a good corner from Parejo found Vargas for the first goal. And about 10 minutes later Feghouli was found by a Pereira through ball and his shot was deflected away from the keeper into the net.
The introduction of Vargas and Feghouli added a lot of energy into the side that looked pretty weary from either last minute travel or the intense match against Sevilla where they were outnumbered for about 45 minutes. However, we now have a 2 goal away cushion to carry to the Mestalla for the home leg next week. First up though we have a home game at the Mestalla against Granada to get through.
Goals:
0-1 Eduardo Vargas (79')
0-2 Feghouli (90')
Squad:
Dynamo Kyiv (0) - Shovkovskiy (Rybka, 54'), Danilo Silva, Vida, Dragovic, Makarenko, Vukojevic, Veloso, Gusev, Belhanda (Garmash, 73'), Lens (Kravets, 83'), Brown
Valencia (2) -Diego Alves, Joao Pereira, Costa, Mathieu, Bernat, Javi Fuego, Keita, Michel (Feghouli, 67'), Jonas (Barragan, 88'), Parejo, Alcacer (Eduardo Vargas, 60')
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Nicolas Otamendi to join Valencia next Season
So what does this signing mean? It means we get a new fresh young defender that will provide better cover than the rusty Costa at the back. A great talent that will help decrease the number of goals Valencia concedes and not conceding goals is key to winning games.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Frantic End to a Transfer Window
Valencia has been busy this transfer market, in fact the busiest of any club in Spain. It started off with Portuguese Defender Ruben Vezo already agreed for before hand. Then it took quite a while but Chilean Striker Eduardo Vargas was brought in a week ago. Then there was an exodus of players with Postiga, Pabon and Guardado all leaving the club, the former loaned to Lazio and the latter two on loan deals to Sao Paulo and Bayer Leverkeusen respectively. However, in the last few days of the transfer market Valencia was at the peak of its activity with Seydou Keita the first of the action.
So Canales has been seeking a way out of a club due to his lack of playing time which is due to his lack of form which is due to his two back-to-back injuries. He was permanently sold to Real Sociedad for 3.5 million euros. He was bought for around 7 million from Real Madrid and part of this 3.5 million goes to them so it wasn't worth it in my opinion.
Next up Banega. With Canales on his way out, you'd think Banega would stay, however he also would leave the club. This deal however, is a 6 month loan deal to his youth club, Newell's Old Boys. Quite a surprise considering there were much bigger European Clubs who wanted his signature (Manchester United, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Dortmund, etc). Either the club didn't want to sell him or the price offered (12.5 million euros) was not enough to convince them. Hopefully he regains form there and be a useful reinforcement for next season.
Now for arrivals. In the last hours of the transfer market Valencia secured a defender and another striker.
28 year old Fullham defender Phillipe Senderos. A Swiss international, he featured for Austria in the past two World Cups and also for European Giants Milan, and Arsenal. At 6'2" he is quite the physical presence in defense. He joins on a free transfer.
I mentioned in a previous article that Valencia was interested in 20 year old Brazilian prospect Vinicius Araujo. Valencia has managed to clinch his signing this transfer window. This deal involved purchasing 50% of his rights from Brazilian Club Cruzeiro for a 3.5 million euros. A good deal for such a promising talent.
This has been one of the busiest transfer windows for Valencia with lots of reinforcements arriving as well as lots of under-achievers departing. There were some names that were missed out on in the last minutes including Nicholas Otamendi of Porto (there wasn't enough time to sign him despite a deal being agreed), and Javier Hernandez (not going anywhere, according to his agent).
Hopefully these new signings pay off, there is no way to tell until they actually play. We might see some of them featuring against Barca including Eduardo Vargas and Ruben Vezo. Along side them, Robert Ibanez and Portu join the squad from the Mestalla B-team.
So Canales has been seeking a way out of a club due to his lack of playing time which is due to his lack of form which is due to his two back-to-back injuries. He was permanently sold to Real Sociedad for 3.5 million euros. He was bought for around 7 million from Real Madrid and part of this 3.5 million goes to them so it wasn't worth it in my opinion.
Next up Banega. With Canales on his way out, you'd think Banega would stay, however he also would leave the club. This deal however, is a 6 month loan deal to his youth club, Newell's Old Boys. Quite a surprise considering there were much bigger European Clubs who wanted his signature (Manchester United, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Dortmund, etc). Either the club didn't want to sell him or the price offered (12.5 million euros) was not enough to convince them. Hopefully he regains form there and be a useful reinforcement for next season.
Now for arrivals. In the last hours of the transfer market Valencia secured a defender and another striker.
I mentioned in a previous article that Valencia was interested in 20 year old Brazilian prospect Vinicius Araujo. Valencia has managed to clinch his signing this transfer window. This deal involved purchasing 50% of his rights from Brazilian Club Cruzeiro for a 3.5 million euros. A good deal for such a promising talent.
This has been one of the busiest transfer windows for Valencia with lots of reinforcements arriving as well as lots of under-achievers departing. There were some names that were missed out on in the last minutes including Nicholas Otamendi of Porto (there wasn't enough time to sign him despite a deal being agreed), and Javier Hernandez (not going anywhere, according to his agent).
Hopefully these new signings pay off, there is no way to tell until they actually play. We might see some of them featuring against Barca including Eduardo Vargas and Ruben Vezo. Along side them, Robert Ibanez and Portu join the squad from the Mestalla B-team.
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